Blast-furnace-charging bell



E. L.k lvEs. BLAST FURNACE CHARGING BELL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27. I9I8.

1,376,439, Y Patented Mays, 1921.

UNITED STATES PAIENT OFFICE.

EDWARD L. IVES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGI'NOR TOFREYN AND COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

IBLAST-FURNACE-CHARGING- BELL.

Application ledFebruary 27, 1918.

T o all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that l, EDWARD L. Ivns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blast-Furnace-Charging Bells, of which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to an improved charging bell for use in blast furnaces, and has for its particular object the provision of improved means for suspending the charging bell used in connection with blast furnaces.

A 'further object of my invention is the provision of a blast furnace bell which will remain in proper position and the provision of means whereby the weight of a blast furnace charging bell will be distributed, and not suspended from a single point.

Heretofore it has been the practice to cast the charging bell with integral lugs on its upper surface, such lugs forming the connections by means of which the bell is suspended in the blast furnace. Owing to the intense heat to which the bell is subjected and consequently to its frequent contraction and expansion, these lugs frequently break 0E and allow the bell to drop into the blast furnace. By the use of my improved carrier in connection with a blast furnace charging bell all danger of falling because of this breakage is avoided.

The Carrier is adapted to fit loosely inside of the charging bell, and conforms in general contour to the shape of the charging bell, and contacts at all points upon its upper surface with the under surface of the bell except at its extreme top which remains out of contact with the bell, the reason for this being that because of the heat the bell ortho carrier is likely to become warped, and if the bell and carrier were in contact at this point, under such conditions the entire weight of the bell would rest on this particular point of the carrier. The carrier is preferably forged and may be made of comparatively thin metal, but it may be cast if desired. It may also be tted inside of and used in connection with blast furnace bells which are already in use, the lugs of which have become broken or which have become weakened in service.

My invention will be further and better Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Serial No. 219,400.

understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a vertical sectional view of the charging and receiving hoppers of a blast furnace with my improved bell in positlon;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 or" Fig. 1; and,

Fig. 3 isatop view of the charging bell showing the slotted apertures through which I-bolts pass. i

Referring speciically'to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, and in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, 10 is the charging hopper the bottom of which is normally closed by the bell 11, which is supported upon the carrier 12. I-bolts 13, 13, are inserted in slotted holes 14, 14, through the bell and carrier. A bolt 15 is inserted through the apertures in the I-bolts, also through an aperture formed in the enlarged portion of another bolt 15, which also passes through one end of a pair of links 16, 1G, the other end of said links being connected to the head member 17 by means of a bolt 18, which passes through an aperture in the head member. The head member 17 in turn is connected to a rod 19 by means of a key 19, the rod passing upward to suitable operating means. Small I-bolts 20, 20, extend through the large bell 11 and the carrier 12, and from which the charging bell may be suspended while being connected to the bell rod 19.

In the operation of the device, material is dumped from skips into a receiving hopper, the bottom of which is normally closed by the small bell 23 operated by means of a hollow rod 24 attached to suitable operating` means at its upper end, and then as desired the small bell 23 is lowered and the material passes into the charging hopper 10 and into the large bell 11. The small bell 23 is then raised into position, the large bell 11 lowered, and the material in the hopper 10 discharged into the furnace.

It will then be seen that the charging bell is exposed directly to the action of heat and hot gases of the furnace, and is subjected to many changes of temperature from "coming into contact with the comparatively cold material on one side and to the action of the hot gases on the other, and, therefore, itis highly desirable that the charging bell Vshould be constructed asstrong and durable as possible. It is also highly important to avoid any delay due to the shutting down of the blast furnace for repairs, which is necessary when the lugs on the charging bell break, and it is necessary, before a charging bell can be put into position lin a blast furnace, to remove a large portion of the structure constituting the top of the furnace, thus keeping a furnace out of service for a considerable period of time. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these and other disadvantages will be avoided by the use of my invention, and it will also beV apparent that details can be changed or added without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

I claim 1. bell, for blast furnace charging apparatus, comprising a bell body, a `carrier member within and shaped to fit the crown of the bell, and a suspending device rising from the carrier and extending loosely through the carrier and the bell, said carrier lying in contact with the bell, and said bell and carrier being free to expand and contact independently of one another and independently of the suspending device.

2. A bell, for blast furnace charging apparatus, comprising a bell body, a carrier member Within and shaped to lit the crown of the bell, and a suspending device rising from the carrier and extending loosely through the carrier and the bell, there being a space between the tops of the bell and the carrier and surrounding the suspending device, said carrier lying in contact with the bell outside of said space, and said bell and carrier being free to expand and lconn tractindependently of one another and independently of the suspending device.

bigned at Chicago, State of Illinois, this lst day of February, A. D. 1918.

. EDWARD L. IVES. 

